We've had a break from winter here in Central Texas the past few days, so I drove the '69 R/T around both Sunday and Monday. After driving on Sunday, I re-checked the coolant level and noticed that after circulating for a while, the coolant had gotten a little foggy. Checked the log, and it's been 3 years. I've been using G-05, but I still don't plan to run extended intervals since its a G-05 "retrofit," so to speak.
Monday, I flushed and filled with new coolant, doing my usual complete drain by opening the block draincocks, flushing with a garden hose and "T" into the heater line using hot water- I have an exterior hot water bib for car washing and coolant flushing. The coolant wasn't actually very dirty AT ALL- I think it was just the contrast with how crystal-clear Zerex G-05/water mix normally is. So the iron parts are being protected quite well (more on G-05 performance in the rest of the system below).
While driving around afterward, I noticed flecks of coolant dripping on the passenger's floormat. I knew almost immediately what it was- the heater control valve is above the glove box, mounted on the firewall. Opened the hood, and sure enough its drooling down the firewall both inside and out. Cheap American junk...only lasts 45 years.
"How long is it going to take you to get a new heater control valve for a '69 Coronet R/T" you might ask. And the answer would be "about 45 seconds." Over 10 years ago, I pulled a brand new, never used, new-in-box heater control valve out of the trunk of a junked car on one of my then-frequent boneyard runs. Its been waiting all that time, and I had it installed in under an hour.
And here I was thinking it was just about time to divest of all may attic full O' parts....
FWIW- the old valve was the usual failure- a rubber seal where the actuator plunger passes into the pressurized section. They used to sell just the rubber inserts for this, but they're a pain to install and I have no idea if you can even get them anymore. It was also obvious this one has been working up to a full-blown leak for a long, long time. Serious amounts of antifreeze crusty residue and corrosion all over the valve mounting plate... nasty. I would have wanted to replace the whole valve mechanism anyway. The INSIDE of the valve looked brand new. Not a trace of corrosion, so I'd say the G-05 is working fine for the copper/bronze parts as well as the iron. No aluminum to speak of on this old beast- just the T-stat housing. And yes, its fine too- despite the fact that such a small amount of aluminum is just begging to become the sacrifical anode for the iron and copper in the system!
Monday, I flushed and filled with new coolant, doing my usual complete drain by opening the block draincocks, flushing with a garden hose and "T" into the heater line using hot water- I have an exterior hot water bib for car washing and coolant flushing. The coolant wasn't actually very dirty AT ALL- I think it was just the contrast with how crystal-clear Zerex G-05/water mix normally is. So the iron parts are being protected quite well (more on G-05 performance in the rest of the system below).
While driving around afterward, I noticed flecks of coolant dripping on the passenger's floormat. I knew almost immediately what it was- the heater control valve is above the glove box, mounted on the firewall. Opened the hood, and sure enough its drooling down the firewall both inside and out. Cheap American junk...only lasts 45 years.
"How long is it going to take you to get a new heater control valve for a '69 Coronet R/T" you might ask. And the answer would be "about 45 seconds." Over 10 years ago, I pulled a brand new, never used, new-in-box heater control valve out of the trunk of a junked car on one of my then-frequent boneyard runs. Its been waiting all that time, and I had it installed in under an hour.
And here I was thinking it was just about time to divest of all may attic full O' parts....
FWIW- the old valve was the usual failure- a rubber seal where the actuator plunger passes into the pressurized section. They used to sell just the rubber inserts for this, but they're a pain to install and I have no idea if you can even get them anymore. It was also obvious this one has been working up to a full-blown leak for a long, long time. Serious amounts of antifreeze crusty residue and corrosion all over the valve mounting plate... nasty. I would have wanted to replace the whole valve mechanism anyway. The INSIDE of the valve looked brand new. Not a trace of corrosion, so I'd say the G-05 is working fine for the copper/bronze parts as well as the iron. No aluminum to speak of on this old beast- just the T-stat housing. And yes, its fine too- despite the fact that such a small amount of aluminum is just begging to become the sacrifical anode for the iron and copper in the system!